New hotels coming up on Orchard Rd

New hotels coming up on Orchard Rd

Singapore's prime shopping belt Orchard Road is set to see its first new hotel in two years.

The new Holiday Inn Express is slated to open in the second quarter this year.

Another new 500-room hotel located at the upcoming new mall Orchard Gateway is expected to receive its first guests in the second quarter of next year.

After a number of new shopping malls have set up shop along Orchard Road in the last few years, new hotels are now coming up along the prime shopping belt.

Slated to open in the second quarter of next year is the hotel in Orchard Gateway to be managed by Traders Hotel.

Analysts said the global financial crisis and the manpower constraints in the construction industry have contributed to the lack of new hotels coming up on Orchard Road in the past few years.

However, patience does pay off.

Robert McIntosh, executive director for Asia Pacific at CBRE Hotels, said: "The same quality of hotel, they would have marked it up 10 to 20 per cent premium on the room rates in Orchard Road.They are definitely more attractive than some other location.

"There is a lot of extra supply, about 6 per cent annually in the next couple of years. But the demand is coming through pretty strongly as well. We think it is going to balance out.'

Last year, Singapore attracted a record 14.4 million visitors who spent S$23 billion in tourism receipts. Despite a slowing global economy, officials are still confident of tourist arrivals growing by up to 7.6 per cent to 15.5 million.

With the increased supply of hotels in Singapore, analysts expect the occupancy rate or the number of rooms that will be taken up to come down.

Alan Cheong, research head at Savills Singapore, said: "The occupancy (rate) will hit towards the 80 to 82 per cent levels in the next three to four years. But the average room rate would be S$230 to S$240 per night for some hotels, which is the current level.

"Anything above 80 per cent is good for hoteliers. If your room rates hit about 60 per cent or 70 per cent like in Bangkok, Beijing, you will charge about US$100 per night."

A slight dip in occupancy rate may not be all bad for hoteliers.

Analysts said this will help maintain room rates and help the hotels to continuously generate revenue.

Revenue Per Available Room should continue to hold at a steady pace.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

STB aims to attract visitors with niche interests

STB aims to attract visitors with niche interests

Positioning Singapore as a tourist destination to cater to the niche interests of visitors is a key priority for the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) this year.

This was revealed by its new CEO Lionel Yeo in his first exclusive interview with Channel NewsAsia after helming the company for some 10 months.

The STB forecasts 2013 tourism receipts to be in the range of about S$23.5 billion to S$24.5 billion.

This is an increase of about 2.2 per cent to 6.5 per cent from last year.

And with attractions such as the River Safari in the pipeline, STB is confident it will continue to draw visitors to Singapore.

Despite this, STB will be pursuing a yield strategy to cater to travellers looking for a more differentiated and value-added experience.

CEO Lionel Yeo said: "It would be people who appreciate the range of dining options that we have in Singapore - high-end dining options as well as unique local flavours. It would be travellers who appreciate our range of retail offerings. It would be travellers who stay at our very nice hotel offerings."

STB's focus will be on business and leisure travellers.

Mr Yeo said: "We see opportunities to get more business travel to Singapore, which will leverage on the facilities and infrastructure that we already have.

"So it might be a CEO who wants to bring his entire senior team here for a corporate retreat or a learning seminar with faculty members with our world-class tertiary institutions here.

What we need to do for leisure (travel) is to throw our marketing efforts in key markets. We need to ensure that we attract the more discerning travellers who are looking for more unique experiences and they are prepared to pay for it as opposed to more of a mass market where they are just here to have a quick look at what Singapore is about."

However, he added that manpower will remain a challenge.

Mr Yeo said: "The first thing to acknowledge is there is growth. The challenge for us then is: how do we secure this growth? And we will need to secure this growth in a new and innovative way, because we cannot be adding more labour to the business model in order to secure this growth.

"We need to evolve a new business model. We need to focus on productivity so that we get more per worker. At the same time, companies need to re-orientate their business model in order to cater to that growth."

STB says it will be working closely with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and industry associations to find new ways to cope with the manpower challenges.

～News courtesy of Channel Newsasia～

Save on tickets at River Safari's soft launch

Save on tickets at River Safari's soft launch

HELLO: A squirrel monkey in the Squirrel Monkey Forest exhibit. (PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES)

The breathtaking sight of manatees gliding among concrete "tree trunks" in a submerged rainforest will be one to savour when the River Safari opens its doors next Wednesday.

It is one of the highlights of the $160-million attraction, the latest addition to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore's portfolio, which the public will get to experience in a soft launch.

The soft-launch period will end when the park fully opens later this year.

During this period, visitors will be charged a discounted ticket rate of $25 for adults and $16 for children aged between three and 12.

This is because some attractions, such as the Amazon River Quest - which comprises a 15-minute boat ride where visitors can see animals like the jaguar and white-faced saki monkey - are still in their final stages of testing.

When the park is fully open, tickets will be priced at $35 for adults and $23 for children.

Mr Ang Cheng Chye, the park's assistant director of zoology, said animals are still being added progressively to the exhibits. He estimates that 60 per cent of the animals will be ready for viewing at the park by next week.

The 12ha attraction will showcase animals from freshwater habitats inspired by eight of the world's iconic rivers, such as the Nile and the Mekong.

It will feature over 5,000 aquatic and terrestrial animals of 300 species, including endangered ones like the giant otter and the Yangtze alligator.

River Safari is also home to the pair of giant pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia, whose exhibit opened in November.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Tourism receipts, visitor arrivals expected to rise

Tourism receipts, visitor arrivals expected to rise: Iswaran

Singapore's tourism receipts for this year are projected to increase to about S$24.5 billion.

Visitor arrivals are also expected to go up to at least 14.8 million.

Minister in Prime Minister's Office S Iswaran said global tourism growth is moderating and visitor arrivals to Singapore cannot continue to grow at the rates seen in recent years.

What Singapore needs, he said, is strong content, especially in business and leisure events to differentiate itself from competitors.

More will be done to facilitate content curation and delivery within the industry.

He said the Singapore Tourism Board will establish a new Kickstart Fund with an initial funding of S$5 million, to support lifestyle concepts with strong tourism potential and scalability.

There will also be more support to help the tourism industry boost its productivity and move up the value chain.

Member of Parliament for Nee Soon GRC Dr Lim Wee Kiak had asked in Parliament: "Just as in the rest of our sectors, the tourism sector will have to face global economic uncertainties, keen regional competition and labour constraints in the years ahead. Will we be able to maintain our attractiveness as a tourism destination?"

Mr Iswaran replied: "Domestically, our land and manpower constraints mean we need to find new ways to do more with less. The next phase of tourism growth would thus have to come from increasing the yield through visitor spend, rather than just visitor numbers. And this transformation and change is timely because externally, the expected rise in Asian tourism over the coming years presents a window for us to attract discerning travellers who seek out differentiated and value-added experiences."

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

Singapore Zoo turns 40

Singapore Zoo turns 40

Singapore Zoo celebrates its 40th birthday this year with a series of events.

The zoo is looking for people who were born on the day the zoo began operations on 27 June 1973.

These people will be invited for a special Singapore Zoo Birthday Bash and be taken on an exclusive tour with a zoo pioneer.

The zoo is also giving a 40 per cent discount on its admission ticket prices for Singaporeans and permanent residents who turn 40 this year. But these individuals must visit with four other friends during the birthday month. The discount is valid from now till the end of the year.

The zoo is also organising a 40th Birthday Bash Zoo Hunt on 16 and 17 March.

～News courtesy of Channel Newsasia～

New MRT ticket fully operational islandwide

New MRT ticket fully operational islandwide

The new Standard Ticket scheme of TransitLink is now operational islandwide.

It was put in place progressively from November 2012.

TransitLink, which processes transit transactions for Singapore's public transport system, said on Wednesday that with the new Standard Ticket, commuters pay a lower deposit of 10 cents.

The ticket can be used up to six times within 30 days from the date of purchase.

To encourage passengers to reuse the ticket, the 10-cent deposit will be automatically offset against the passenger's fare on the third trip, while a discount of 10 cents will be given for the sixth trip.

Presently, passengers using the current Standard Ticket have to buy a new ticket for each trip, with no discount given.

Commuters won't be able to buy or use the current Standard Ticket for travel on the MRT and LRT from 1 March.

Those who have it can get a refund of the remaining value of the ticket within three days of the date of purchase.

They can also get a refund of the deposit of S$1 within 30 days from the date of purchase at any MRT station Passenger Service Centre.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~

New-look coins by mid-2013

New-look coins by mid-2013



Singapore will have a whole new set of coins in circulation by the middle of this year.

The current Second Series coins were first introduced in 1985 and featured local plants and flowers, depicting Singapore as a garden city.

But they'll soon make way for the Third Series featuring five of Singapore's national icons and landmarks - the Merlion, Port of Singapore, Changi Airport, Public Housing and the Esplanade.

For example, HDB flats - home to more than 80 per cent of Singaporeans - will be featured on the 10-cent coin... and the Esplanade on the 5-cent coin.

"Coins reflect the events, persons or symbols significant to a nation. The new series coins depict local icons and landmarks that are familiar to Singaporeans and reflect various aspects of Singapore's progress as a nation," said Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Each coin denomination has an electro-magnetic signature, which allows vending machines to detect counterfeit and foreign coins.

The one-dollar coin contains additional security features such as its bi-metallic composition and laser mark micro-engraving in the shape of Singapore's national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim.

The new coins will have larger denomination numerals for easy identification and features to facilitate identification by the visually-impaired.

The coins are progressively sized by denomination, with the 5-cent coin being the smallest and one-dollar coin being the largest.

Mrs Foo-Yap Siew Hong, Assistant Managing Director of MAS, said, "The Second Series coins have been in use for more than 25 years. There will be a period of adjustment as we all get comfortable with the new coins. MAS will continue to work closely with our stakeholders to smoothen the transition."

MAS says it has been working with public transport operators to ensure that coin-operated machines at MRT/LRT stations are calibrated to accept both the current and new series coins before the launch.

It has also been working with businesses with coin-operated facilities such as vending machine operators and supermarkets to prepare them for the launch.

And to ensure a smooth transition, the current series will continue to be legal tender, as they are phased out over the next four years.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~